I just kind of thought of it, I have been to many restaurants in my time which are "famous" popular, the trendy place, etc.. even known for it's food. but really the food is garbage IMO

now this is just my opinion, but usually these places close down after a couple years when something new comes along, I guess the customers who frequent these places are just hipsters looking to be seen in the next trendy place. anyway I want to know why certain places are famous when their product is not even good.now I know we have all been to places which are famous and we left dissatisfied and wandering what the hell? why is this place busy?

is it just most Americans really still don't know good food? can you guys let me know some of your experiences and then tell me why you think the places are so busy when it's not the food.

Sometimes a place will be busy because of it's location. It maybe the only restaurant of it's kind so as you said people will go there until another place like it opens.

Atmosphere appeals to most ppl as well. Atmosphere and presentation seem to speak volumes to most ppl who arent truely critical about food.

And then some people just want to be seen at certain places because it's hip and attracts a young crowd. Not really different than paying for overpriced and sometimes diluted alcoholic beverages at clubs and bars. People aren't there for the food.

Kinda reminds me of the old, Show Biz Pizza. Great fun and entertainment but fifth rate pizza at best. When our kids were younger they wanted to go there all the time, not for the pizza but for the fun and games. Even with bad pizza the place was always packed.Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor

buceriasdon

Quote: Atmosphere appeals to most ppl as well. Atmosphere and presentation seem to speak volumes to most ppl who arent truely critical about food. Chau, I'm counting on that as I know my customers will not be very critical about the food. I also think cleanliness is important.Don

Don, I probably should have said "who aren't super critical". Atmosphere and cleanliness is always a plus, especially if the food is fresh and good as well. I think for most ppl, going out to dinner is more about the company and the fun of being out. Unless the food is truely bad, most don't seem to fuss about it too much.

I have all the confidence you are going to have much success with your new venture. Btw, the new mixer and oven looks awesome. Wish I could give them a test run.

Pizzeria Paradiso in DC comes to mind. I was not at all impressed with the pizza, but the place was packed. I think the reasons JT noted hit the nail on the head. Also, if you're told the pizza is good and you don't know any better, (unless it is really bad) you will probably think it is good in blissful ignorance, and then tell others who don't know any better. It's sad.

Pizzeria Paradiso in DC comes to mind. I was not at all impressed with the pizza, but the place was packed. I think the reasons JT noted hit the nail on the head. Also, if you're told the pizza is good and you don't know any better, (unless it is really bad) you will probably think it is good in blissful ignorance, and then tell others who don't know any better. It's sad.

One of the first names that leaped to my mind Craig. 2Amys, based on my last two visits there, also came to mind.

Nothing stands more paramount than Lombardi's when it comes to this topic however.

There is a running joke among the more hardcore Baltimore pizza peeps......What do Guy Fieri, Kevin Bacon, George Carlin and Luciano Pavarotti have in common? They don't know s#&t about pizza.

Crust is often super floppy, under cooked, long bake times, heavy gum lines, bland and often not noticeably better than a bake done in a conveyor oven. "Darker" tasting, tired marinara like sauce, mediocre cheese....you get the picture. And yet the joint is always packed. Go figure--K

An interesting topic given that if I were to sell pizzas made out of my LBE and somehow got a lot of hype, at this point right now a discerning pizza enthusiast would say *exactly* the same thing about my pies right now.

Son, we live in a world that has pizza, and that pizza has to be made by men with passion. Who's gonna do it? You? You, SPIN! Pizza? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Lombardiís, and you curse the bloggers. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That pointing out bad restaurants, while tragic, probably saves the art. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves the art.

You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me making that pie, you need me making that pie. We use words like char, cornice, crumb. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent perfecting something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the banner of the beautiful pizza that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a peel, and man an oven. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.

Phar Lap

Son, we live in a world that has pizza, and that pizza has to be made by men with passion. Who's gonna do it? You? You, SPIN! Pizza? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Lombardiís, and you curse the bloggers. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That pointing out bad restaurants, while tragic, probably saves the art. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves the art.

You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me making that pie, you need me making that pie. We use words like char, cornice, crumb. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent perfecting something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the banner of the beautiful pizza that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a peel, and man an oven. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.

+1 to Showbiz Pizza Place...and let's not forget their main competitor and eventual successor, Chuck E. Cheese's!...or as we like to call it Chuck E Diseases, thanks to the wide variety of germs available throughout the play areas.

What parent hasn't been forced to endure a birthday party there? Aparently hair is available as a free topping. We got a pizza once where every slice had at least one strand of hair in it. I'm not even sure how it was possible to get that much hair on one pizza unless someone decided to brush their hair over the make line or something. When we complained about it, they offered us free game tokens.